THE ABYSSINIAN FIASCO
still ingeminated peace and security, the Govern-
ment seemed more anxious to get ample funds
for the next war voted. And presently M. Laval
and Sir Samuel Hoare laid their heads together
and produced terms of peace which they said
Mussolini might consider. They reduced Abyssin-
ian independence to a farce, and granted Mussolini
substantially all he had demanded. Laval had once
more proved himself a true friend of Italy; but
in England this dastardly agreement provoked
such an outburst of public indignation that Mr.
Baldwin had to sacrifice Sir Samuel Hoare. He
had to retire, as it proved temporarily, from the
ministry, and Mr. Anthony Eden, who was sup-
posed to be a sincere champion of the League
of Nations, was appointed Foreign Secretary in
his place. But British policy did not increase in
vigour.
When Mussolini's legions, lavishly equipped
with tanks and aeroplanes and poison gas and
all the destructive paraphernalia of modern war-
fare, after building truly Roman roads for their
mechanical transport, cautiously began their
advance upon Addis Ababa, the wretchedly
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